Pinocchio in Outer Space

I'm transferring my VHS copy of this film to DVD right now and I'm re-appreciating the hard work to make this above average animated sci-fi fantasy. Great character design reminiscent of the Fleisher era Popeyes. Lots of imaginative monsters. The animation is never lazy, lots of full character shots of walks and runs and good "acting" to go with the voice track. I mistakenly thought this was an example of the early Japanese animation like Astro Boy. It's actually French-Belguim. I saw this when it came out in the sixties when I was about 12 or 13. At the Knob Hill theater in Oklahoma City. Probably co billed with something like Hercules vs The Vampires.

...despite the fact that they made him a blonde... It's true that while this film is a visual departure from the Disney version (as it should be, IMO), it does have some elements that make it enjoyable nonetheless. The songs ("In the Little Toy Shop", "Goody Good Morning" and "Doin' the Impossible") are very decent and fun to listen to. Then there's the combination of a classic fairy tale and the space age (Pinocchio saves the Earth from Astro the flying whale). Throw in Arnold Stang (Nertle the Turtle), some scary intergalactic mutants, an atomic blast, and you've got...well, a decent 60's animated movie about a puppet saving the world.

"Pinocchio in Outer Space" may not be in the same "all time classic" league as the Disney "Pinocchio", but what it lacks in budget and grandeur it makes up for in imagination and well-crafted ambience. Rather than being a lame attempt to cash in on the audience's good memories of the Disney version, this film is actually an exercise in the classic science-fiction "what-if" scenario. And it works. It has some of the most evocative outer-space scenes ever animated, with some truly haunting extra-terrestrial landscapes and a host of alien monsters sure to thrill the still young-at-heart. It's not for everyone, but for those who can find themselves enthralled by its peculiar charms, this film is a gold mine of Sunday morning kraft dinner bliss.

wow i was beginning to think i'd imagined the whole thing. i actually did see this in the 70's as a child , i was beginning to think this was some sort of shared delusion with my brother.....i'm glad it's real ;)

Buried in the annals of my childhood fears is this movie that I saw when I was too young to experience anything except sensual sensation. I don't even remember the plot except that there was a horrible space whale with a weird thruster thing instead of a blowhole and terrible martian space monsters that absolutely scared the crap out of me. The whole film is extremely frightening and disturbing.

I like it :)